


Fathoms Bellow

by ColdAtomHeadcanons



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: AU, M/M, Mermaids, Mermen, Sailor!Len, merman!ray, or well pirate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 21:56:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6725119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColdAtomHeadcanons/pseuds/ColdAtomHeadcanons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not your Little Mermaid AU. </p><p>"The first time it happens, Ray is still a mer-boy. He’s bad at listening to his mother as well and he just can’t stand being around Sydney and his friends, so he swims off and pulls himself on one of the rocks. He closes his eyes and stretches his tail, letting the sun warm him.</p><p>There is a splash nearby though. And another and another and Ray frowns as he sits up, wondering if this is another of Sydney’s jokes. But it’s not. There is a small boat with a human -  a boy a bit closer to being a man than Ray, probably - who is jumping in the water over and over, a desperate look on his face every time he pulls his head over the water. He’s not sure if it’s tears in his eyes or just water, but the next time the boy goes under, Ray slips into the water, still hiding behind the rock but watching. The boy is trying to reach to the bottom of the sea, where the biggest pearls are sitting, he doesn’t reach down though, still too far from there when he’s out of breath and the need for oxygen forces him back out."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fathoms Bellow

**Author's Note:**

> Ask by snarkysnartes @tumblr :Mermaid! Ray and Sailor! Len.

The first time it happens, Ray is still a mer-boy. He’s bad at listening to his mother as well and he just can’t stand being around Sydney and his friends, so he swims off and pulls himself on one of the rocks. He closes his eyes and stretches his tail, letting the sun warm him.

There is a splash nearby though. And another and another and Ray frowns as he sits up, wondering if this is another of Sydney’s jokes. But it’s not. There is a small boat with a human -  a boy a bit closer to being a man than Ray, probably - who is jumping in the water over and over, a desperate look on his face every time he pulls his head over the water. He’s not sure if it’s tears in his eyes or just water, but the next time the boy goes under, Ray slips into the water, still hiding behind the rock but watching. The boy is trying to reach to the bottom of the sea, where the biggest pearls are sitting, he doesn’t reach down though, still too far from there when he’s out of breath and the need for oxygen forces him back out.

Ray watches as the boy tries several times, the movement of his arms growing more tired with each time, and then he stays up. Ray pulls his head above the water surfaces and blinks at the boy - whose head is hung down and he can see the little hands turned into fists and trembling and well… those probably are tears. The boy mutters something Ray doesn’t understand and Ray shakes his head lightly, slipping under the water and swimming down, down, _down_ until he passes the part of the floor the boy tried to reach. He knows there are bigger pearls down t here, he used to play around them. He grins when he finds them, quickly picking up few shells. His hand hesitates over the shell with the  black pearl… but he still takes it and swims back up to the light very carefully. The boy is still sitting at the same place, breathing hard, and Ray puts the pearls on the other side of the rock, before taking a small stone and throwing it the boy’s way. When he hears a yelp, Ray presses himself against opening under the rock, hiding in the shadows.

It doesn’t take long and the boy is slipping to Ray’s side - Ray can hear and see the stones falling in the water and then it’s quiet. So quiet that Ray’s almost tempted to pull out and _look,_ but then the boy steps to the water.

“Who’s there?! Show yourself!”  


Ray winces and slips half of his face under the water. Maybe his mother is right. The world above the surface isn’t safe, there is a lot of sea life and if Ray would just listen to his mother and stay there instead of running off and wanting to feel the sun as much as he did -

“Well, if you’re not coming out… thank you.”  


The words are uttered very quietly and Ray is half sure he just imagined them. He doesn’t dare to look out, but his heart is beating like crazy and his chest feels a bit tight and he wonders why is that. Maybe he can’t breathe or something. Only when he hears the other boy going back around the rock and swimming to his boat, does he dare to pull himself up a bit and glance over.

The boy is smiling and Ray can feel an answering smile slip to his own lips.

* * *

As Ray grows up, he doesn’t forget about the boy. He doesn’t see him again either, but the boy is a precious memory that he carries in his heart, turning to it when he feels the things are a bit too dark. When Sydney gets a bit over the top with his acting. When he feels like he’s getting lost in the big sea. He comes back to the rock every now and then, not really hoping or expecting anything but just… being there for a while, letting the warm sunlight dry his skin for a bit, before slipping back into the water before his tail, and hair can dry out.

Then he doesn’t think about the boy too much when he meets Anna. She is possibly the most beautiful and nicest mermaid that ever lived. Ray doesn’t want anything more than stay with her forever and they are happy. For a while. Until the sailors come, fishing and manage to catch both him and Anna in two separate nets. Ray thrashes, trying to get free, because he can see Anna’s net coming up, he can see the rope winding around her neck and choking her. His own net’s being pulled up and suddenly Sydney comes out of nowhere, cutting at Ray’s net, not listening to Ray yelling at him, to stop it, to get Anna first, reaching out to her and when the net finally gives, Ray’s swimming in a flash - his brother’s arms catch him though, pulling him back.

“It’s too late, Ray… it’s too late.” Ray’s eyes widen and he trashes in Sydney’s hold, even though he knows he’s right. The light disappeared from Anna’s eyes and before her body crosses the surface, she’s already turned into fish - a clear sign of life leaving her body.  


Ray pulls at Sydney again and again, but his brother doesn’t let go, holding him tightly, muttering the sorry’s and ‘had to get you first’s in Ray’s back over and over.

Ray hates Sydney for saving him and not Anna more than he did ever before.

* * *

  


Years go by and while the hurt of losing Anna is still painful, it’s not so fresh anymore. Ray is finally able to smile, when he thinks back at all the good memories that they shared, he’s able to think fondly back. He’s able to swim through the sea again, without feeling like his whole world is shattering around him.

He’s able to move on with his life, and he’s even able to forgive Sydney. A little.

He starts swimming further from home again, often looking up, longing to feel the sun on his face again, but he never crosses the surface.

It’s on one of his swims when Ray hears something and he looks up. A woman is jerking in the water, hands bound, and bubbles of oxygen leaving her mouth, rising up and up.

She is going to choke without oxygen, her lungs are going to burn as they are filled with water - and suddenly Ray moves. He knows he’s not supposed to come close to humans. He knows they are killers, he knows there is a reason why their home defense - the sirens - are singing each night. But there’s something that drives him forward. Maybe it’s the memory of Anna, maybe it’s the thought that no one’s life should end like that, that makes him reach the woman and pull her up, pushing her above the water. He follows, and he’s blinded by the light. He forgot how bright and warm it was, and after so long in the dark waters, it hurts his eyes and he’s closing his eyes, the woman’s pulled from his arms, and then he’s being pulled up as well, lifted over a railing. He tries to pull away, tries to fight the hands that are clutching his arms, but while he’s deadly in the water, like any mer-folk, he can’t do much out of it.

“Oh look at this, Snart. We could get a little fortune out of selling this.” Ray can feel hands prod at his tail and it twitches from the touch and -  


“Mick.” A voice growls, full of warning, “Stop it.” Than hand immediately draws back and Ray opens his eyes. He is frowning, trying to block out the harsh light, but he still sees what’s around him. Not to far off is a man, lying on the ground with a sword ran through his  chest. There are more bodies lying in blood all around and Ray freezes.

Then there is a touch on his shoulder, and his head snaps around, just as the hand moves under his chin and lifts his head up and Ray’s left staring at a familiar face. He can’t place it, not right away and it’s only when his eyes fall down to the black pearl that’s sitting on the man’s chest that he remembers the boy from what feels like whole lifetimes ago. His eyes widen and it seems that that’s the confirmation the guy is looking for, because he nods.

“This is the second time you saved my sister’s life.” Ray looks over the guy’s shoulder when the woman, her hands freed and cuddled in a big fur steps forward.  


“Lenny?” She asks and the man - Lenny? turns to look at her.  


“I told you about him, remember? That he helped me get to the pearls. After Lewis threatened to hurt you if I didn’t bring them to him?” Her eyes move to the man lying dead on the floor. “He’s not going to touch you again.” the man reaches out and squeezes his sister’s hand, and her eyes turn to Ray, her brother turns to him as well.

“I’ve seen you that time. You weren’t as smart as you like to think.” Ray blinks at that, and he wants to ask why the man kept quiet though. Why he didn’t say anything. He opens his mouth and then closes it, when he realizes it’s forbidden to talk to humans, but the guy seems to understand anyway.  


“You didn’t ask about my secret. I had no right asking about yours.” The hand is back, touching his cheek lightly and Ray blinks.  


* * *

  


“There is no point glaring at me, Raymond.” Len drawls and Ray’s eyebrow twitches. He bares his pointy teeth and screeches. Unfortunately, Len doesn’t seem really that impressed.  


“I heard your friends Sirens had voices that could pull people from far and wide. You don’t seem to share that quality with them.”  


“Yes, they also spend _years_ studying how to work with their voice exactly like that.” Ray huffs and Len smirks next to him. Ray really wants to make the smirk disappear a lot of times. With a punch. Or maybe with a kiss. Yes, kiss would be much more preferred, for some time now. And Ray knows it’s stupid falling for a human, but there is just something about Len that makes Ray want. And feel. Feel so much, feel things that he wasn’t able to feel ever since Anna was taken from him and he blames Len. He blames Len and his sister for coming to Ray’s rock, over and over again, just talking to him.  
  
Then Lisa starts staying home and Len’s visits are more and more frequent, even though Ray doesn’t say a word at the beginning. Len talks instead of him, telling him about this or that heist that the pirates did - him being the captain - and he laughs at Ray’s disapproving looks when he talks about attacking and taking gold from the Navy ships. Then he smirks when Ray leans closer when Len talks about the good things they did, how they gave the gold to the little ports too far off from Navy to care about and then Ray is the smirking one, when he calls Len’s name one day. The man’s staring at him, before he smirks.

_Took you long enough._

Ray really can’t be blamed. Not for coming over to the shore near the harbor where Len was currently staying to make the way easier for Len. He can’t be blamed for wanting, and when Len leaves that evening, when it’s too cold to stay outside, near the water, Ray watches him leave.

He sighs, pulls his body out of the water on the stone shore, drags himself further away and waits.

* * *

  


No one told him it would feel like that. Ray is trembling with the pain, the stones scratching at his stomach and he’s feeling like he’s going to die. He cries out into the dark and wonders if this is what being burned alive fells like.

When his eyes open again, he feels weird. His fingers are stretched towards the water, and Ray remembers vaguely trying to crawl forward it when the pain started to be maddening, but thankfully, he didn’t manage. He looks down his body and smiles. It’s weird not seeing his tail, instead two legs. Well… maybe all the pain was worth it. But now he understands why so few mermaids decided to do things this way.

“Ray?!” The voice that is way too familiar by now calls and Ray looks up. Good thing that they were supposed to meet today with Len here again. Ray doesn’t think he’d be able to … pretty much do anything.

Len is staring at his legs - he has _legs,_ the thought is still overwhelming - and he’s frowning. Something that Ray didn’t really count with. He’s stalking over - walking as fast as he can, without actually running - and Ray can see how worried he is. Len’s mask is not working on Ray, not anymore.

He falls to his knees next to Ray and Ray winces - that had to hurt on the stones, but Len doesn’t care as he grabs Ray’s face and pulls his head up to be able to stare at him.

“If you gave up your voice, just to be able to get legs, I’m kicking you.”  He threatens and Ray is tempted to make fun of him. He’s temped to look down, pretending he did just that. But he can’t do that. He’s too giddy, _he has legs,_ to do anything else, but grin widely.  


“I can kick myself now.” Ray says and Len’s staring at him, before he groans and pulls Ray close, hugging him and resting his forehead on Ray’s shoulder.  


Len huffs and then pulls back. “Why did you do this?”  


And that’s something that Ray’s pretty sure is obvious.

“I couldn’t be with you, otherwise.”  


Len is staring at him for a while, before shaking his head.

“You’re an _idiot_ , Raymond.” Len complains. “If you’re changing into sea foam and then into air something, I’m hunting you down and making sure your soul can never move on, you understand?” And before Ray can make fun of him for believing in stupid fairy tales, he’s being kissed, Len’s lips sliding hard against his own, and Len is biting his bottom lip. Ray groans and lets himself be pushed down on the small stones and Len proceeds to ravage his mouth. One of Len’s hands run down Ray’s body and slips down his leg and Ray shivers at the feeling.

No wonder people liked their legs.    


* * *

  


“I kind of dislike you not falling on your face when you’re trying to walk anymore.” Len complains as he comes up to Ray, his arms slipping around him and closing on the railing of the ship, imprisoning Ray.  


Ray doesn’t bother to turn around, just keeps looking at the wonderful sea in front of him, and all around him, trying to fight down the desire to swim down there again. To breathe so differently, to understand every movement of water.

“Why is that?”  


“Because you can just walk wherever you want. Without me.” Oh and that is the problem. It is true that Len enjoyed watching Ray’s first steps way too much. Maybe only Lisa enjoyed it more, laughing like crazy whenever Ray attempted.  


Ray smiles at that and shrugged, unable to tear his eyes away from the never ending blue around them.

“Can’t you change back?” Len asks putting his chin on Ray’s shoulder.  


“I can. If I stayed in the sea long enough.” Maybe the whole night. Then it could work. Or until his body wasn’t forced to stay underwater enough for the oxygen to leave and thus forcing him to change back.  


“Why don’t you, then? I mean, it’s obvious how much you want to. You said you had a family there.”

“That’s the price to pay.” Ray says and when Len pinches his side, waiting for explanation, he sighs. “Every miracle can happen just once, Len.”  


“Wait.” Lisa huffs, and Ray turns, finally, glancing over at her. He would like to know how the Snart siblings can move around that quietly. “Does that mean you couldn’t turn back human?”  


“Not if I became a mer-man again, no.” Lisa’s eyes narrow and she turns to her brother.  


“I’ll get the rope, you hold him down.” There is a manic glint in Lisa’s eyes and it’s rather… frightening.  


“Lisa, no.” Len says, quietly and calmly, and Ray turns to thank him, but when he turns to the older Snart, he has the same glint in his own eyes and as Ray steps back, Len’s arms wind themselves around Ray’s waist. “We can’t have him tied up all the time. We’re just not letting him step into the sea. Ever again.”  


Ray wants to complain about that - he really does, but his mouth is a bit too busy being kissed senseless.

…well.. he can get back to it, later.


End file.
